On the 4th of October, Nepalese authorities seized the ballots of Tibetan refugees voting in Kathmandu to select candidates for next year’s Tibetan government-in-exile general elections. As Nepal is itself in the midst of a powerful political crisis, its authorities are loath to antagonise either India or China on the Tibet issue.

The approximately 120,000-strong Tibetan diaspora lives mostly in India. The so-called capital of the exiled Dalai Lama is in the north, in Dharamsala. Other Tibetans live in the southern state of Karnataka, and about 20,000 reside in Nepal. The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 and until 1971 was financed directly by the CIA and the US Congress. Since the 1980’s, he has been raising funds privately, spearheading a worldwide PR campaign to raise awareness of the Tibetan issue.

Dr. A. Tom Grunfeld, an American expert on Tibet and Chinese history, contends that US support for the Tibetan cause has made life much harder for the Tibetans still living in their native province, whilst increasing tensions in Asia and greatly damaging diplomatic relations between India and China.

The Melbourne-based The Age claims that the State Department continues to give the Dalai Lama financial support to this day through its refugee program, which goes to his so-called government-in-exile (in reality merely a pressure group). During the Clinton and Bush administrations, the State Department was mandated to assiduously cultivate India with a view to use it later on against its presumed foe, China. The Bush administration went as far as to unilaterally waive all sanctions following India’s nuclear program revelations.

Even reputable publications like The Economist try to accredit the idea that in only a few years from now, presumably with Anglo-Saxon assistance, India will overtake China as the fastest-growing economy in Asia…

The EU officials and parliamentarians should refuse to be dragged into such geopolitical scenarios, that only make life difficult for Tibetan citizens and indirectly for the Nepalese. Tibet does need further investments and infrastructure, more schools, hospitals and agricultural machinery. To be sure, a religious leader like the Dalai Lama is unsuitable as a “champion of democracy”. Abandoning for good the Bush agenda and geostrategic scenarios which antagonise two rising economic superstars of Asia was initially the intention of the Obama administration. As matters now stand, however, this seems to have petered out under the influence of “China hawks” in Washington.
(sources: Asia Times, Hindustan Times, The Economist, The Age, Foreign Policy in Focus – A. Tom Grunfeld)

India’s rise in the economic ladder is certainly fast but not as fast as china’s and it would take us some time to get upto them. They have been having 9% GDP growth for 3 decades now and for us it has been just 1 decade of more than 8% GDP growth.

Thought the rising economic might of India is certainly going to play an important role in future in the region and with EU and US helping in economy India will certainly become an important ally.

About: Spotlight on Geopolitics

Florian Pantazi is an historian and geopolitical consultant. The focus of his research is the European Union's role as a global actor, its influence in Asia and Latin America, as well as the major geopolitical shifts confronting the international community of states. Apart from his interest in European external affairs, he has -- since 1998 -- researched and authored articles on the emergence of China and its geoeconomic agenda ; Turkey's Islamic model of democracy; the Asian and global financial crises; the most recent political evolutions in the Maghreb.

Florian Pantazi holds a Master in Geopolitics and International Relations from Sciences Po Toulouse and an MA in History from the Al.I.Cuza University, Iasi, Romania. Contact: florian.pantazi @ gmail.com Twitter: @Geopolinsider

At the end of February, Caritas International has released its 2015 Report on poverty within the European Union. According to its authors, six years of enforced budgetary authority have gravely affected 125 million EU citizens who are now forced to live under the poverty thresholds of their respective countries.The worst-hit countries are EU members such […]

One hundred and eighty years ago (1834) , the newly-founded Academy for Moral and Political Sciences in Paris organized a competition for the best research paper on the causes and various manifestations of poverty in Europe. The best research paper on the subject, which won its author a 2,500 francs prize offered by baron Félix […]